Overcast
by Pencilwalla
Summary: AU. Twilight/Hellsing xover, set post-BD. Integra arrives in America after a vampire tries to kill her. Edward and Bella are enjoying their senior year when Edward meets his second 'singer'.
1. part one

_part one_

It was a typical rainy morning in Washington. The clouds were dark and heavy; the prelude to an ominous storm. At four in the morning, the town was quiet and the inhabitants still sleeping.

A helicopter landed precariously a few miles out. A crack of thunder was drowned out by the spinning propeller blades. A small figure, followed by a great black dog, climbed from the door. They walked away, heading towards an idling vehicle that was waiting for them.

The wind blew long blonde hair into her eyes as she dragged her suitcase towards the car. The luggage of her pet-no longer a dog but a little girl-was already at the apartment that was their destination.

"If you don't shut up, I'll make you carry this," she snapped, turning her head to see the helicopter return to the skies.

There hadn't been a vacancy in the building when they had applied. But through various methods of persuasion, including a very generous settlement, the apartment she had wanted had been outfitted and emptied for her arrival and needs. She knew how to get things done, once she realized there was no way out of her predicament.

They got into the car and it drove away, racing towards the town below. She had school in three hours. It was best not to be late.

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"What do you think she's doing right now?" Bella whispered to Edward as they sat in the front row, enjoying the first day of the last year of high school for a while. It was Bella's second time going through high school, as they'd moved out and gone into hiding for a while after Renesmee's birth. Now that she was six and a half, Jacob was taking her on a world tour for six months. The two had planned the whole trip out in secret before pitching it, and while both Bella and Edward felt a little nervous about letting their daughter out into the world all by her lonesome, Bella had felt it was time.

Personally, Edward was looking forward to going to college with Bella. It would be an experience, and he was considering learning another language this time while Bella got a literature degree. Bella was still young, and enjoyed high school; Edward had found it tedious after the fourth time. The new city was larger; it as easier to blend in here, and there were no Quileute here to cause trouble for them.

"Enjoying Rome, I imagine," Edward hissed back, looking up as the teacher came in. He was an older, balding man, and he stared at the students with a mixture of disdain and loathing. He swaggered over to his desk, sat down, and slammed his hand down on the desk.

Bella looked unnerved as he went into an angry speech on the subject of famous literature, its benefits, and how uneducated they all were. Edward patted her hand. She would do fine; she was fairly good at English. The lecture was interrupted by the door opening again, this time to admit a student that no one recognized. She came over to the desk, her stride noticeably self-assured and long, and showed him some paperwork. The noise level of the classroom went up as the words "new student" swept from desk to desk.

The thoughts of the class were unhelpful, but Edward tried to focus on them while attempting to block out the smell of the new girl. His mind flashed back to the events that had led to Bella sitting next to him, and he tried to focus on that, too. Anything to keep him from doing something rash and violent and evil.

"It sucks, having to change schools so late," Bella said. She could tell that something was wrongjust by looking at him and was trying to distract him. The new student had received instructions from the teacher to go stand before the class. She was carrying a briefcase rather than a backpack, and it had _Sir Hellsing _written on the corner in silver lettering.

"Alright, introduce yourself." Mr. Banner said. The student opened her mouth to speak.

Bella, being in possession of a vampiric mind, had already memorized the girl's appearance-thin, dark, with white blonde hair and round glasses. Now that she was facing them, she saw that the new girl had blue eyes and had a white shirt on under an immaculate black suit and red scarf. She had on no make-up or jewelry - nothing to make Edward suddenly stiffen with stress. However,remembering the things he'd told her about their first encounter, she realized that either this girl smelled good, or he already knew her.

"My name is Integral Hellsing." Integra knew better than to bother with her full name in front of a class of teenagers. She'd save it for signing documents and the Round Table. Staring down the class, she continued, "I recently transferred here from England." Satisfied with her introduction, she moved to the only empty seat in the front row and sat.

The girl behind her, Linda, struck up a conversation. Linda was famous in the school for her plays, the best of which were performed by the school's drama department in November. She made a point of conversing with everyone she met, saying it was the best way to get ideas.

"Get out some paper and take notes," barked Mr. Banner, and he began a monologueon the themes of Hamlet. Students scrambled for pens and began hurriedly writing down everything he said, while Edward and Bella made perfect transcriptions of the speech. Passive listening for them was much easier than for a human, and it would keep Edward distracted.

He hoped.

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The fourth week of school was when things really began speeding up. For one thing, the play auditions were underway, and Linda's more romantic take on _Dracula_ was both popular and full of good parts. Homework was becoming harder as the mounds of beginning-of-the-year paperwork were finally turned in, and interim grades were due at the end of the week.

Integra was getting along quite well, or so she felt. Linda had taking a liking to her and proceeded to invite her to her lunch table, for shopping, and other such things, and since being transferred to America had significantly increased her free time, she accepted the invitations.Her grades were no problem-technically, back in England, Integra already had a degree (a product of almost two years without sleeping, eating properly, or leaving her office) so that she could get on with her work without the Round Table hounding her.

There had, as of yet, been no problem with her receiving and sending reports to and from home.She hoped that the rest of this year would pass as quickly, or better yet, that she could go home within two months.

_One maniac vampire tries to kill you and they ship you to another country. _She sighed at the thought. It wasn't the first time someone had tried to assassinate her. It certainly wouldn't be the last. The Round Table needed to get over it and move on. Besides, she had Alucard to protect her. It didn't matter where she was.

"Are you trying out for the play?" Mary was Linda's biggest fan. She was also an aspiring actress. "I am. For Mina."

"Mina Harker? I haven't read the script, but I can assume that she is, in fact, still a main character?" Integra asked. "I'm only familiar with the original Dracula."

"Oh, you'll like the new one. Jonathan and all of Lucy's suitors form this gang of abusive men, and Dr. Van Helsing is this crazy old man, and Renfield is actually a good guy, and Dracula falls in love with Mina and she escapes with him off to his castle while her husband and her friend close in. It's just amazing." Integra tried to imagine Alucard's reaction to this new version of his history and nearly burst out laughing. She'd have to procure a copy of the script for him. Mary must have seen her amusement, because she continued, "You don't like it?"

"I thought vampires were supposed to be evil." Integra explained.

"I got the idea from Mina saying that she pitied Dracula," Linda explained. She had heard the end of their conversation. "Anyways, Mrs. Frou, the drama teacher, wants me to help pick the cast for the auditions. Based on looks alone, either of the Cullens would be good. Based on skill alone, Mary, Ida, Derek, Jon, Ed...Integra, in our Communications class your reading from Macbeth was good. You really connected with her, didn't you?"

"I suppose I did." Integra had connected to Lady Macbeth in that neither of them were particularly happy with their sex-Integra was sick of people telling her she couldn't run her organization just because she was a woman, while Lady Macbeth was afraid that being a woman would prevent her from murdering Duncan for her husband."The Cullens are Edward and Bella."

"The perfect couple." Linda agreed. "They're so in love that it actually makes me ill if I listen to them talk to each other. But they are beautiful, so half the school hates them."

"Are either of them auditioning?" Mary asked.

"No, but someone should ask Edward." Linda complained. "I can't. It'll look weird. Auditions for the leads start today. Who has a class with him?"

"I have science with him next period. So does Integra." Jack, another friend of Linda's, joined in. "It's a sub today."

"Good. One of you, ask him to audition. He already looks like a vampire; we won't even need to put make-up on him." Linda said. The conversation turned elsewhere until the bell rang, and they all scrambled to get to class.

In science, they were immediately forced to stand against the wall while the teacher assigned them groups to do a project in. For the next month, they'd have to design and build five different interactive models on any topic, provided it related to science. The idea was to create a kind of 'student museum', and it was an unpopular project, partly because it was difficult and partly because the groups were assigned.

Linda would have been delighted. She and Jack were assigned to the same group as Edward Cullen. The three of them were put at a table in the back of the room and given a rubric before being let loose.

Integra didn't dislike Edward Cullen, because he had never spoken to her or she to him. She had once tried to ask him about an assignment and he had fled as soon as he could, as if she carried a contagious disease. The incident had quickly been forgotten, and only resurfaced now as she saw that he was rigid in his seat and looking at the desk as though he hated it.

"You trying out for the play?" Jack asked, not bothering to be subtle. Integra approved.

"No. They're doing _Dracula_ this year, aren't they?" Edward asked. Integra nodded, reading the rubric. This project was actually worth more than the final exam. She passed it to Jack to look at and was about to propose zoology as a topic when her mind was abruptly breached.

_Your motorcycle's here._

_What? Already? I thought I was getting a new one after you destroyed the last one?_

_I could bring it to you, Master._

_Or you could stay in the apartment like a good pet until I get home. It's not far to walk, and I do not want you ever operate a motor vehicle again. I can't afford it._

She cut off the mental contact, feeling rather pleased that her vehicle was here already. She liked her motorcycle-it was less cumbersome than a car. The first one had been a present from Walter when she was fifteen, and she'd been through three of them up till now. Alucard had a knack of destroying everything she owned and making it look like an accident.

Edward was looking at her oddly now. She frowned-the whole conversation had taken only a second- and began talking.

"We could do basic animal models .Different adaptations, digestive systems, something to that effect." She offered.

"That sounds hard." Jack whined. "I guess we can do that. What animals?"

"Anything is fine with me." Edward said flatly, still looking slightly off-balance. He was frowning at Integra, staring at her forehead as if it were on fire. She glared back and turned her attention to Jack. As the two decided on the specifics of the project, Edward remained silent. As soon as the bell rang, he left as fast as possible.

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"It was a black hole of depravity and bloodlust," Edward said. He and Bella were on the roof of the house they'd bought on the outskirts of the city, watching the stars as they talked. "Her mind is always dark. Trying to read it is like staring at a moonless night out in the woods. But for a brief moment, the darkness was intensified."

"She doesn't look like a bad person at all." Bella mused. "Cold, but not evil. But Alice can't see her."

"That's right." Edward remembered asking Alice if she had seen the arrival of this girl, this singer. But Alice not only hadn't seen it coming, she also couldn't see Integra, even when she got a look at her in the mall later on.It was frustrating. "What is she?"

"What does it matter?" Rosalie asked. She had just come home, from her latest honeymoon, and she was still in a gown. Despite that, she had jumped onto the roof without problems. "She's not doing anything. There's no reason for us to try and get involved. You just don't like not knowing. Besides, what if you end up eating her?"

"I can control myself, Rosalie." Edward said testily. Bella nodded. "Bella's alive, isn't she?"

"Be careful." Rosalie said, and let it go. She turned and stepped off the roof, going back into the house where Emmett was no doubt waiting.

Bella and Edward stayed out on the roof, looking up at the sky and looking for something else to say. Finally, Bella spoke.

"The school play is about vampires." She mused. "You know that I haven't even read Dracula yet? Isn't that, like, a rule?"

"It's interesting, although it had little bearing on our lives. Linda Markson wants me to audition for the role of Dracula."

"Sounds like fun." Bella said. "Why don't you?"

"It's too dangerous." Edward replied.

"Why? No one would ever suspect you were a vampire. Vampires are supposed to sleep in coffins and turn into bats. As long as you're careful, you should be fine. And it would be fun."

"I'm not much of an actor."

"Yes, you are. We did that Shakespeare last Christmas, remember? You were so good. I promise, I won't get jealous of your leading lady..." Bella wheedled. "Come on."

"I'll go tomorrow," Edward said, amused. "And you? Why don't you try out?"

"I'm a terrible actress, you know that." She pointed at her face. "Open book."

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It all happened in the space of a few minutes. One minute, she was eating her lunch, secretly dying for a cigar, and being coerced into reading out a passage from Linda's play. The next minute, Linda was insisting she take the role of Mina.

"I cannot act." Integra protested. She stabbed a cucumber with a fork and ate it. Linda continued on, undeterred.

"Your reading was fabulous! You connect with Mina, and her desire to escape oppression, and her escapist tendencies as she flees to Dracula's castle. It's like you were Mina, running away from her husband, and when you read the part where she kills Jonathan! Please, at least consider it."

Integra didn't say that she connected with Mina because the last few scenes of the play were a disturbing parallel to her own life; she had fled Richard as Mina fled Jonathan, and had ended up killing him, just as Mina killed Jonathan. Yes, she related, not the least because the vampire in both plays was the same, even if Linda had rather underestimated just how evil Alucard actually was. Besides, she reflected, Alucard would never go soft-hearted over a girl who cried all the time. Certainly he'd never tolerated it from her.

"I don't have the time." Integra protested.

"Yeah, because all that lurking in your room perfecting your homework is so time-consuming. Please, please, please, Integra! No one else has auditioned that understands my creation!"

Integra was about to refuse again, then reconsidered. Granted, she'd never acted in her life. And she didn't think of herself as a good actress. However, it would be something to do while she was holed up in America, it would keep her away from Alucard so she couldn't murder him, and it might teach her something about pretending that could come in handy the next time she lied to the Round Table.

"If you don't find anyone at the auditions, then I'll do it. There are two days left, remember?"

"Oh, thank you!" Linda hugged her, nearly knocking them both off of their seats. She could get very emotional when it came to her plays. Rolling her eyes, Integra pried Linda off of her and returned her attention to her neglected salad.

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The cast list was posted the next Monday, while students were gathering at their lockers and on the stairwells, comparing their interim reports. As a crowd formed around the paper pinned outside the drama department, the sounds of disappointment and elation rang though the air. Integra heard the name, 'Edward Cullen' more than once and realized he must have gotten a role. Mary and Jack came up to her and congratulated her.

"I didn't know you'd tried out." Mary said. "I miss one lunch period and no one tells me the important stuff. And guess who's playing Dracula? Edward Cullen!"

There was silence as Integra envisioned Edward Cullen trying to be Dracula. The idea was laughable. He lacked the ability to be both frighteningly immoral and ridiculously childish at once. Plus he probably could not turn into a hellhound and jump on her. As strange as the Cullens were, with their bizarrely white skin and their aversion to sunlight, Integra had concluded they were not, in fact, vampires. They might be incredibly odd, but they were not her problem unless they developed a taste for blood. Integra prayed fervently that the reason the Cullens never ate had something to do with their figures and nothing to do with alternate diets or vampires wannabe cults.

"He's rather attractive, you know." Mary said with a sigh. "Are you dating someone? Most girls would be excited."

"He's not my type." Integra replied .What her type was, she didn't know, but Edward Cullen and his tendency to glare at her like she was the Antichristwasn't it. Her mind drifted to a report she'd gotten of a recent vampire attack back home. While she mentally worked out different strategies, the crowds dispersed and she moved to her locker and then to class on autopilot.

The play didn't reenter her thoughts until after school was over, when she packed up her briefcase and went down into the auditorium to attend the first meeting, where she would presumably receive all the necessary information about the production. Linda was already there, bursting with excitement, and thrust a script into her hands. Integra flipped through it, and noticed a disturbing pattern.

"_How_ many times do I have to swoon and faint?"

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**Author's Notes:**

**Right, FFN did something bizarre to my spacing when I DocXed this thing, so I can only pray it is readable. I also hope FFN will spare my formatting. One can only hope.**

**Edit: Why does FFN randomly bold things that I unbolded befoe uploading?**

**Next chapter...Edward discovers who his leading lady is and Alucard discovers his Master can't swoon into anyone's arms. Or can she...? *cue dramatic music here***


	2. part two

_part two_

Linda rolled her eyes. "Calm down, Integra. Think of something scary, or close your eyes and relax entirely. If you really can't fake it, stare directly into Edward's eyes for a second. And try not to hyperventilate."

Integra raised an eyebrow. The most frightening things she could think of didn't make her want to faint; they made her want to get her sword and kill something in a violent and deranged manner. And not only did she think there was something off about Edward that made him unnerving, she hadn't been particularly affected by a good-looking boy since she was thirteen. Possibly because she was always worrying about work rather than romance, and there had been that incident in the park from which the boy in question had never fully recovered.

Her pet vampire was not a good influence on her.

She continued to look over the script, and had to admit that the dialogue wasn't so bad. It was emotional in all the right places, although Alucard would never say something so sappy....she considered making him help her practice, just to see his reaction, and then got to the romantic scenes. She changed her mind. Her vampire was never, ever going to see this because he would mock her for all of eternity.

"I hope you and Edward have some chemistry." Linda said. "Oh, he's here. Where is everyone else?"

Edward came up the steps, onto the stage, and was immediately attacked by Linda. She gabbed at him excitedly, then handed him a script. He flipped through it, and regretted auditioning almost immediately. Not only was he going to have Integral falling into his arms, he had to be very close to her neck in a few scenes as well. It was just as well he'd stopped breathing when he came in. He'd have to get used to going without his sense of smell for more than two periods a day.

"Listen, I'm going to go get the others, okay? Edward, help Integra practice her swooning. Just stand there and catch her." Linda hurried down the stage stairs and out the door, leaving Edward and Bella alone. Mercifully, Integra spoke first, so that Edward didn't have to intake enough air to speak and risk eating her. The sense of darkness emanating from her mind was distinctly bloodthirsty today, and stronger; it was like listening to the thoughts of a thirsty vampire who was hunting. It made it worse for him.

"Stand behind me and hold out your arm." She ordered, and he complied, watching her nervously. Edward resisted the urge to inhale. He didn't want her falling into his arms now, when they were alone-she would be a perfect target-and even as the venom flowed in his mouth, he thought of Bella, still with him, and focused.

Integra tried to drop backwards and ended up nearly staggering into him. She scowled; at her old school in England, she'd participated in some 'trust exercises' involving falling into a 'trusted' person's arms and had the same reaction. A few more attempts at swooning into Edward's arms confirmed her teacher's hypothesis: she had obvious trust problems and needed to see a therapist.

However, she couldn't make excuses; it would not look good in the play if the maiden in distress was as stiff and disjointed as a badly-operated marionette. She shut her eyes, preparing to try again.

"Stand a little closer." Integra said to Edward, and he reluctantly did so. She told herself that with her reflexes, even if Edward dropped her, she'd avoid any serious injuries. She toppled backwards.

Edward felt the bloodlust coming from her intensify, and clenched his teeth together, uncaring of his expression so long as he prevented himself from killing her. And the worst of it was that, as she landed in his arms, he couldn't move away until she stood up. He could not risk her hurting herself and bleeding.

The milliseconds ticked by. To Integra, it had been perhaps a half-second but to Edward, time seemed to drag on and on. He was thirsty, and Integra's thoughts were so strong that they were almost invasive; he was having a hard time blocking them out, and he couldn't concentrate on two things at once...

He took a deep, slow breath, enjoying the scent, and restrained her. In the space of a second, he went from fighting his thirst to embracing it, even indulging it...His teeth touched her neck.

He was repelled; something hit him with enough force to push him several feet across the stage and dislodge his grip on Integral. Edward looked to Integra for an explanation; but he could no longer see Integra. There was something in the way, and he jumped back even further across the stage.

A formless black thing with unnecessary, undefined appendages, several red eyes; a monstrous shape that was seven feet tall and was quickly taking on a humanoid form. It had a scent he didn't recognize, a dead scent, but the thoughts were identical to Integra's except that they were stronger. In fact, they were Integra's thoughts. But they held a note of semi-madness that wasn't at all apparent in Integra's manner. Somehow, she was broadcasting the thoughts of someone else.

If the thing hadn't been snarling at him, and it hadn't hit him so hard, he would have been fascinated. As it was, Edward was tensed for a fight.

_Alucard! What the hell was that?_

_He was going to bite you. Should I have let him, Master? Did you want his teeth in your throat?_

_I was referring to your overly dramatic display of shape-shifting, you imbecile! Go away!_

_And if he attacks again?_

_Just get out of sight, then, but do not compromise my cover any further!_

Alucard looked disappointed at being denied a fight, but faded away quickly. Integra glared at Edward, trying to discern what he was going to do. He'd been fast, maybe at the level of a lid-range vampire. Not as fast as Alucard, though. And he'd been out for her blood, and since she'd been monitoring the city via a link with their police force for possible vampire attacks, he was either covering very well or he was feeding elsewhere.

Or not at all, which would explain why he'd suddenly tried to eat her.

"What are you?" Integra asked. Before Edward could fabricate something that sounded acceptable, the double doors opened and Linda, followed by the rest of the actors and crew for _Dracula_, entered. The tension was broken, but Integra gave Edward a look that said she would not forget this incident.

And then she turned her back, trusting Alucard to watch it for her, and walked away.

Edward left out the other door, giving Linda a transparent excuse with the last of his air, and drove away as fast as he could. Rosalie was going to murder him, and Jasper would be furious as well. At least now he knew why Alice hadn't seen this coming.

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"Did you see his eyes?" Integra asked. She had driven home, ignoring the abnormal wind that was blowing and grumbling about overly-dramatic vampires who were having too much fun playing with the weather. Her apartment was only ten minutes from the school.

"They were amber." She said, leaning back on the bed. It was one of the few pieces of furniture in the room. There was also a dresser and a nightstand with a laptop plugged into the wall sitting on top of it. The floors and walls were white, as was the small, spotless bathroom. It was comfortable, if impersonal. "Vampires generally do not have amber eyes. Red, or whatever color they were as a human if they're young. But not amber. And his eyes were black before." She reached for the laptop, setting it in her lap and pulling up a certain file, courtesy of Walter. "Have you ever encountered anything like it?"

"I may have, while I was still in Romania. It was a brief encounter. But their eyes were red."

"Damn." Integra glanced through the file. It was a carefully compiled database of the students at her school, the faculty, and various useful persons and locations around the city. Edward and Bella both had files, but they were perfectly clean and almost devoid of detail. She suspected forgeries, because there had to be something. Records would have come from another school, even if they transferred. The too-clean records were abnormal.

"We could just find them, Master." Alucard suggested. She nodded absently.

"I'll speak with him tomorrow. He'll have to tell me something; he can hardly pretend he didn't try to eat me." She shut the computer, neatly wrote a note on a piece of paper, and went over to the closet. There was a fax machine there .She faxed the paper to Walter and turned her attention to her homework.

For about an hour she worked studiously. Then she put away her books and pulled out her script, intending to look over her lines in more detail. She would have to start learning them now. Unfortunately, _Dracula_ was emblazoned across the cover of her script, and Alucard came over, interested.

"What's that?"

"One of the girls at school redid Dracula for the stage. You wouldn't like it; she's taken rather a lot of liberties with your character."

"Really."

"Remember that love poem I received anonymously at school one year? Your love confession sounds like that." The poem in question had been entitled "The Most Beautiful Flower Of Perfect, Sunkissed Youth".

"Confession to whom?" Integra winced-she'd been hoping to avoid telling him this for as long as possible, but she supposed it was best to get the mocking over with now.

"Mina Harker." She admitted. "The one I'm playing." Hoping he would let it go and knowing he was going to laugh like a loon as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she forced herself to read her lines over and over again.

She was not disappointed. Alucard did burst out laughing.

Pinching the bridge of her nose and adjusting her glasses, she reached behind her and threw a pillow at his face.

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The worst part was Carlisle's disappointment.

Rosalie and Jasper were understandably angry that he'd acted so stupidly and endangered them all. Emmett had more sympathy, having made a few mistakes himself. Alice was upset but was distracted by the puzzle of what, exactly that thing that had defended Integra was and how it was connected to Integra as to make her invisible to her clairvoyance. Esme and Bella had forgiven him on sight.

And Carlisle loved him, and forgave him, but to disappoint him was the worst, because there was no one who Edward admired as much as his surrogate father. After he'd told them the story of his encounter, he'd endured a few awkward moments before Carlisle began speculating on what the thing might have been.

"I would think it was one of our kind, with the power to create illusions, but an illusion that repelled you? I've never heard of anything like it."

"Was it like Renata?" Bella asked. At the mention of Aro's bodyguard, Edward shook his head.

"No. It was like I'd been body-slammed by another vampire."

They discussed other theories, but even the most unlikely ideas were incompatible. Eventually, they gave up.

"I'll see what I can dig up." Alice sighed. She reached for the nearest laptop-the Cullens owned several. "A giant black blob with several eyes. Great."

The rest of his family separated to do their own research, and to his relief he saw that no one intended to go and kill Integra just yet. He'd worried that they would, the way Rosalie and Jasper had planned when he'd rescued Bella, but so far she was in the clear. It would be inexcusable to allow her to die after he'd nearly killed her. The scent of her blood, appealing and intoxicating, was hardly her fault.

He found a laptop of his own and started searching, but he'd scarcely began when the sound of a gasp reached his ears. It was Alice, and he saw what she had seen for an instant. Immediately, he rushed along with the rest of the family to the living room where she sat.

"I saw her." Alice explained rapidly. "Integra. She was in a dark room, with Aro, Jane, and Chelsea. There were carvings on the walls, but I didn't recognize the language."

'When?" Emmett asked. "When are the Volturi coming?"

"I don't know." Alice said. She shut her eyes for a moment, and then shook her head. "I can't see them. They've made a decision that leads them somewhere where I can't see. To Integra."

"Here." Edward said quietly. "They're coming here."

"I can't see anything else, either." Alice sighed. "I'm looking, I am, but I can't see anything in between. It's just for that-" She blanked out again, and Edward saw through her eyes as he tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

"Three months." Edward said. "This occurs in three months. You can see past that point, Alice?"

"No. Just that much. It's in flux after that. Decisions have been made that are going to lead to the Volturi coming here, Integra meeting them. And why can I see her for only that one point?"

"Something changed for her. She's human; you should be able to see her. Maybe it's that thing. She has no thoughts of her own; perhaps she's under its control."

The rest of the Cullens, keeping up with the conversation, looked at the two. Edward and Alice continued to theorize, and Bella broke in, finally.

"Shouldn't we do something? Integra could be in danger. The Volturi might hurt her."

"If we tell her anything, they will kill her. We have to keep quiet." Jasper pointed out.

Bella said, "But we can't just let things go as they are! Right now she's going towards the Volturi! We might be able to help her. Besides, she might figure it out on her own and blurt it out. Wouldn't it be better if we got involved?"

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"Alucard. Come here."

Alucard looked up. He'd been sitting on his coffin, drinking a blood packet, and now he threw the empty packet onto the floor and walked over.

"Pick that up and throw it away. It's disgusting. Then come here, I need your help."

The blood packet floated over to the trash can and fell in. She looked disdainfully at it before getting up.

"Hold out your arm-I'm going to practice swooning again. And don't say anything." She added as he opened his mouth. Sighing, she stood, her back facing him, and closed her eyes.

Alucard will catch you, she told herself. And them she leaned back and fell.

She landed easily in his arms and looked up at him. It had been much easier to convince herself that Alucard would catch her. The gym teacher had been right; she obviously needed help if the person she trusted enough to faint onto was a five-hundred-year-old homicidal vampire whose hobbies were ripping ghouls and other vampires into little pieces with his bare hands.

"I thought you were pretending to swoon." Alucard jibed, seeing that she was distracted. She rolled her eyes and reached up to smack him.

"Only an idiot would swoon over you." She informed him. "Let go of me. The Cullens are always at school early, and I should go to bed so I can be there before them."

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The morning came, grey and dim, and Carlisle found his son sitting up on the roof while his wife was in their bedroom.

_Edward._

"Carlisle." Edward greeted him. He looked out at the sky.

_Is something wrong between you and Bella?_

"No. Why would you think that?"

_You two seem forlorn. Separate. I'm worried about your happiness._

"We're just...adjusting." Edward lied. He had noticed that something was wrong between Bella and him-the way they talked, the way they acted, the way they hadn't slept together for months and neither of them brought it up. When they were at school they were the same as before, but it was almost a duty rather than natural affection.

But he wasn't going to further worry his parents by letting them know that.

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Edward and Bella got out of their Volvo, and Integra was waiting, leaning on her motorcycle. She waved at them and began walking towards them. Edward looked over to Bella, who looked right back, equally unsure.

"What are you going to tell her?"

"What we planned. I'm going to tell her she's out of her mind. No one will believe her."

"Okay." Bella whispered. "I'll wait for you in class, 'kay?" Without waiting for an answer, she strode off towards the building. Edward waited as Integra approached purposefully.

"What are you?" She asked.

Edward gave her a look. "I don't know what you're talking about, Integra. You must have hit your head-"

Integra smiled at him. This was a carefully perfected you're-going-to-die smile, one normally reserved for serial killers and cynical old ladies, and Edward hadn't expected it.

"Don't insult my intelligence by assuming I'll play along with your charade. Answer, or I'll inform the appropriate authorities. Abnormally pale skin, amber eyes, superhuman speed, and a desire to drink blood. What are you?"

"A normal person who doesn't tan easily."

Integra shook her head. "A normal person does not feel the urge to rip out the throats of his classmates." He looked into her eyes, trying to read her face, and realized that she was smart enough to have figured out so much about him. She was too smart; too unsurprised. Either she was trying to get him to confirm a suspicion, or she honestly thought that he could give her an explanation that didn't come straight out of a horror movie.

She was in danger if another one of his kind ever found out what she knew. She was bold, to come up to him like this alone .Either she was certain he wouldn't kill her, or she'd planned for it already. That thing's protection, perhaps? Edward knew that he had to tell her something.

"You're safer not knowing." He warned her, and then he moved to go into the school. She didn't follow him; rather she answered him, her voice perfectly calm.

"You're safer telling me now, rather than waiting for more drastic reaction."

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	3. part three

_part three_

Edward left school early that day, and Bella came with him, determined to avoid any more interrogations from Integral until they had a more concrete lie thought up.

They drove home as fast as possible, and the rest of the family was waiting for them. They were sitting in the dining room, all looking surprisingly cheery considering the worries that had hung over them that morning. Alice was furiously working on a laptop, typing so fast that she was in danger of damaging the keyboard.

"What happened at school?" Emmett asked.

"She refuses to let it go. She even threatened me when I walked away. Certainly not your average high school student. What have you found out?"

"The information doesn't add up." Alice replied. "She's been knighted, but she's listed as having some obscure government position. She has to have some hidden income, because her salary and her investments don't add up to her bank balance. Every time I try to get any information on her government job, I get redirected somewhere else."

"You can't get the information illegally?" Bella asked in surprise.

"Fake papers are one thing." Jasper said. "Information from the government of a foreign country is another. There's no way for us to get this information."

"She's not surprised or afraid of what I am. She may have encountered one of us before." Edward said.

"Then why start a fight?" Rosalie asked. "There's no reason. Besides, a nomad would have just killed her."

"Unless she won that fight." Jasper said. "But if she knows, why ask? She would have just given us up or tried to kill us."

"If she has a government job, she'll have contacts. She can tell someone who'll believe her." Alice said. "We're not safe if she opens her mouth to anyone."

"Then we get rid of her." Rosalie hissed ."As we should have already done!"

"No." Esme said. "We can't consign her to death for our mistake."

"We can't stand aside and let her destroy us, either." Jasper pointed out. "She's seen too much. If we don't take her out, the Volturi will."

"Unless she wins." Bella said. "Unless whatever saved her from Edward decides to kill us all. Maybe we should run, while we can."

"She hasn't done anything wrong." Edward said. All eyes went to him. "She was threatened and she's fighting back. We're at fault here. We can't kill her because she refuses to keep quiet about what to her was attempted murder."

"We? You were the one who couldn't keep his teeth to himself." Rosalie hissed. "You want to die for her, go right ahead. But you can't take us all down with you."

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He wrote the title neatly across the top of the page. He added his name, the date and the class. It all looked like it had been typed; perfect handwriting was one of the benefits of being a vampire. He wrote the first sentence.

"Bella Cullen is the person I love most in the world." It was a generic start to an essay, and he wouldn't get any points for it, but his mind was in turmoil. Esme had forced them to break up the argument and had declared an hour's rest so that they could all calm down. No one was claming down, of course: Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper were already planning the murder, as if it was decided. Carlisle and Esme were downstairs, looking up possible new homes for the family. Bella was above him, presumably working.

He tried again to focus on the essay. He needed reasons, reasons why he loved Bella so very, very much.

He couldn't think of anything. It was shocking-Edward thought of himself as intelligent, and it was very rare for him to have no ideas at all. And this was only an assignment for school. He stared at the paper, telling himself to focus. There were plenty of reasons.

Yet not one came to mind. He flicked back through memories, all the way back to that horrifying first day when she'd come into Biology. He had said lots of things to her on the subject of love. Yet now, his mind was empty? Impossible. Ridiculous.

True.

It hit him, hard. He didn't love Bella anymore. The all consuming passion that had driven him to stay with her when she was intoxicating, the feelings that had persuaded him to make her immortal, were gone, or at least much tamer and no longer romantic.

Had he loved her? Vampires were frozen at the mental development that they had reached when they were turned. And he'd never met a seventeen year old who was mature enough to reach a level of affection higher than infatuation. That could turn to love. It did often turn to love. But it took time.

It really hit Edward for the first time in years that he was seventeen, and had bee seventeen for a long time. He had never really felt like a child, and yet it occurred to him he might, in some way, still be one. In his time, seventeen had been a man. Was he a man?

Bella had been warm. She'd been attractive. She'd been mysterious, with her shielded mind, and perhaps because he'd been no good at reading faces without the accompanying thoughts, he thought her original and unique and special.

But now he realized he could predict her and read her as easily as an ordinary human. He knew her. The fascination that had fed his first obsession was gone, and it had taken with it the all-encompassing affection.

Edward felt the guilt as keenly as he had once felt love. Bella was a vampire. She was no longer human. She had traded everything she had loved to follow him into the night, and now he wasn't in love with her? He would be a monster if he broke her heart that way.

"You, too?" Bella's voice cut into his thoughts, and he turned and saw she was at the door. She was holding a piece of paper much like his own, the same essay, the same blank page waiting for reasons that weren't there anymore. Relief washed over him, and it mad him even guiltier.

"Edward...Edward, I..." They were silent. There were no words to say: to admit that the love was gone seemed like a sin, like the pointless breaking of something fine and delicate. They had played a charade for years. Such a short time, and yet it seemed as if it had gone on forever.

But someone had to speak up. Edward said, "Bella." It was just a name, but she understood what he meant.

For the first time, they really saw each other: saw two people who were not angels, not perfect, but as capable of fault as themselves. The idols were smashed.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"It's okay." Bella lied. It was not okay. She was leaving her husband, the father of her child, and she needed to cry to someone. Who could she go to? The rest of the Cullens? Would they even understand, when they were all perfectly matched to their other halves? And the humans in her life were all gone, her mother and her friends. She was trapped.

"I'll move out." He offered, and Bella nodded. She turned and walked out of the room, feeling lost and sad. She wished she could cry.

Edward closed the door, and ripped the desk in half, watching it splinter into pieces.

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Integra sat up in bed, panting. She groped around for her glasses, and put them on, staring at the covers knotted around her legs. She was sweating.

It was an old nightmare, but it had yet to lose its potency. The sight of Richard, gun in hand, his smile promising death for her still haunted her dreams, even though the man was long dead. She'd had him cremated out of paranoia.

"Nightmare?" Alucard asked. He was sitting on his coffin, slurping blood. At the rate he was going through the stuff she was going to have to order more. She nodded, and got out of bed. Integra went into the bathroom and washed her face, then came back out and sat on the floor with her laptop. She knew better than to bother with trying to sleep when she'd had a nightmare.

"Can you cut down on the blood? It's expensive."

"But I'm thirsty." Alucard protested, as though this was an actual argument. Integra ignored it.

"You'll live." She said. "Or at least, you won't suffer for it." She put the computer aside-the email she was waiting for wasn't in yet-and she flicked on a lamp and picked up her script. She had been painfully learning the more romantic lines.

There was a crash outside her window, and Alucard grabbed her and dragged her away just as the glass broke. There was the sound of snarling and a blur of white as not one but two figures wrestled on her bedroom floor. One was Edward, and one was a blonde that Integra didn't recognize.

"Restrain them before they break something else." Integra said tersely. She picked up her bathrobe and put it on. The sound of the snarling increased, and then it fell silent; Integra turned around and saw Alucard had both of them pinned.

"Rosalie, you idiot." Edward said. He was glaring at the blonde. She glared right back.

"If you hadn't gotten in the way, she'd be dead." Rosalie shot back.

"Unlikely." Integra said. "So you came to kill me."

"We're willing to negotiate. Rosalie was just a bit hasty." Edward lied. Carlisle and Esme were willing to negotiate. Bella was out of town. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were not at all willing to try and compromise; they were just waiting for the right time. Well, Emmett would have come with Rosalie if she hadn't requested he stay behind.

"Negotiate what? You tried to kill me. Either you cooperate or I'll act." Integra said.

Rosalie and Edward looked at each other again. They were trapped, as it was. Edward silently cursed Rosalie for being rash; if she'd waited, or listened to him for a second, they wouldn't be her. They were now in danger of being killed and the odds of Integra keeping their secrets was much lower.

"What do you want?" Rosalie asked.

"Information." Integra replied. "What are you?"

Edward and Rosalie traded a third look. He could hear his sister's thoughts: she was against saying anything, but she couldn't see another way out of their predicament. She had the same thoughts as he did, then. He opened his mouth and confessed.

"We're vampires."

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After Alucard had finished laughing his head off, Integra asked another question.

"You're undead corpses that sleep in coffins and are burned by silver?" She said dubiously.

"Those are myths." Rosalie said scornfully.

"Elaborate."

Edward took over. "Vampires have hardened skin. Heightened senses. Our eye color varies depending on our diet. We're venomous-the venom causes intense pain and changes normal humans into vampires if it spreads."

"Can you die?"

"No." Rosalie said smugly. "We're immortal."

"Then it shouldn't matter if I tell people what you are, should it? How do I destroy you?"

"You'd have to tear us to pieces, and then burn us." Edward admitted. "Will you let us go?"

"Why should I?"

"I'm sure we can reach an arrangement. We don't want to hurt anyone if it can be avoided." He jerked his head towards Rosalie. "We're trying to protect ourselves."

"I'd be more inclined to believe that pretty speech if your teeth hadn't tried to rip open my jugular."

"Some people have more potent blood than others. It was a mistake, and I am sorry."

_Potent? What does that even mean? It sounds like an excuse to me._

_It means you're delicious, Master. I agree._

"So I smelled so good that you couldn't help but eat me, even though you encounter hundreds of other students and they seem to have survived the experience?"

"It's not a common thing. It's rare that someone's blood is so irresistible."

Integra considered what she knew so far. They presumably weren't feeding off the inhabitants of the town-she couldn't find any evidence of them doing so, anyways. They were a totally different species, with none of the usual weaknesses of the undead. She might be able to destroy this group, but she needed more information on their capabilities, as well as how many there were. Not only did she need it to conduct her own investigations, but it was her responsibility to forward all this to the American vampire hunting organization.

So they would live until she could confirm what they'd said as fact.

"How are you feeding?" She asked. "Just drinking in small amounts?"

"We feed off the local wildlife. We can't drink in small amounts. Vampires have feeding frenzies, like sharks-it's almost impossible to stop one you've tasted blood."

"How many of you are there?"

"I don't have an exact number. We travel in pairs, usually. Only those who abstain can stay in one place for long. We're in most countries-we prefer sunless places."

"Sunlight is dangerous to you, then?"

"No, but it reveals us for what we are. We sparkle."

"You sparkle?" Alucard asked incredulously. He looked like he was going to laugh some more. Integra wasn't sure if the Cullens had figured out that Alucard was a vampire yet, but if he kept laughing at them, they would suspect something.

_Alucard. Be quiet._

_They_ sparkle_, Master._

"So you're a bunch of strong, fast, bulletproof bloodsuckers. You can't control bats or wolves?" What Integra really wanted to know was if they could do some of the things Alucard could do, like, hypnotism and messing with her dreams, but she thought that if she presented one possible power they'd talk about others. Edward was certainly forthcoming now, although that could be because he and his companion were pinned against the wall.

"We're predators. Animals dislike us. Those powers are myths as well-when you become a vampire, your dominant trait as a human is intensified. Some people can read thoughts. Some people can see the future, some can even manipulate elements. Some have much more subtle gifts."

"What do you do?"

"I can read minds." Edward decided not to mention that he couldn't read Integra's mind; it was a disadvantage that he didn't want her exploiting. She already had the upper hand.

"But you can't read mine, can you?" Integra asked. She had noticed a certain resistance to vampiric hypnotism soon after awakening Alucard. She had long suspected that the connection between them would have other benefits, and she was also certain that if Edward had been able to read her mind, he wouldn't have tried out for the play as to avoid temptation.

"No." Edward admitted, wondering how she knew. "Bella has a mental shield. My siblings can see the future, or influence people's emotions." He didn't mention Alice's limitations, either, although he suspected she would figure that out herself, soon enough. If Alice had been able to see the result of attacking Integra, they wouldn't have come. Her intelligence would have been admirable if she hadn't been using it against them.

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The rehearsals were further complicated when the set was finished and the props were brought in. Now they had to remember where the props were and when they were needed, and it took even longer to get set up and cleaned up everyday.

Linda was enjoying the bustle, however; she was excitedly keeping everything organized and carried around a clipboard everywhere. Integra was less happy; the tenuous grip the play had on order clashed with her sensibilities. Integra hated mess.

"Try on your dress, Integra; I wanna see how it looks." Linda said. Because they had been able to find anything in the school's costume supplies, Integra had ended up using the only formal gown she'd brought with her. It was an unadorned white dress that relied on the figure of the wearer for its beauty, and it was strapless, which meant Integra almost never wore it.

She went into the dressing room, and pulled the dress out of its garment bag. After some fumbling, she managed to get the zipper all he way up. She went back out onto the stage, taking care not to step on the hem of the dress, which dragged along the ground.

"Don't you ever eat, Integra?" Linda teased. "You're skinny."

"I exercise." Integra explained. She noticed Edward had arrived and he was looking at her. Probably trying to read her mind, she thought, and dismissed it. He wasn't the only one-several people had looked up and were watching her with interest. "Are we going to rehearse or not?"

"Places, everyone! We're starting from Mina and Dracula's love scene! Edward, get up here!"

Integra and Edward took their places onstage; the numerous crew members, all in black, hurried backstage; the rest of the cast hid in the wings, and Linda rushed down the steps and sat down, pen poised over her clipboard.

"My beloved, you cannot go." Edward began.

"But I must." Integra sighed. She began to walk away, and Edward grabbed her hand, pulling her back.

"Why should you suffer? We are safe here. Together."

"But we are not. My husband comes, with that mad man, Van Hellsing, and all his friends; they will kill you. I must leave."

"If you go, the sun shall set on my meager existence. Your pure, selfless love has rescued me from the moonless night of my life. I am blind to all beauty but yours; deaf to all voices but yours; I cannot go on without you. I beg of you, stay."

"But I must go, for even though we are flowers on a common bush, growing from the same stem, a storm brews high above. I will draw only terror and pain to this place. Let me go!" Integra raised a hand to her forehead and swooned backwards into Edward dramatically; she fell limply over her his arm and waited.

"My love, I cannot allow this!" Edward carried her offstage while she continued to swoon, and the actors playing Jonathan Harker and his friends rushed out, discussing the location of the castle and the coming storm.

"You can put me down now." Integra snapped as soon as they were out of sight. Edward let her slide to the ground, and she hurried out of the room to change. As she stripped off the dress, hung it back up, and changed into the nightgown she was wearing in the next scene, she wondered why no one in the play commented on the fact that Dracula had changed her clothes while she was sleeping. It seemed to go against the romantic theme of the play. Shrugging, she hurried back out to wait in the wings.

"You two have such great chemistry." Linda hissed as she came up behind them.

"Do we?" Edward asked. He looked almost pleased. Someone waved frantically at him from further backstage; apparently something was wrong with his microphone. "Excuse me."

"He likes you." Linda muttered as soon as Edward was out of earshot. "You know Bella's not at school? Apparently she's in another state now."

"I hardly even know him." Integra replied. "What does Bella have to do with anything?"

"Nothing, nothing. Except that he likes you, and his girlfriend's not here. Paints an interesting picture, doesn't it?"

"Not at all. Honestly, Linda." Integra sighed. She was fairly certain that Edward's interest in her wasn't 'like', it was extreme dislike because she was a threat to his convert existence. Linda had an overactive imagination indeed. She listened for her cue; the next scene was the one where she killed Jonathan.

She hurried out onstage as soon as the other actors were off and the scenery had been moved; she lay down on the bed ad closed her eyes, as if she was sleeping. Edward came in and leaned over her.

"My love, when will you awaken? I await you with every passing moment..."

"Uh," Integra pretended to struggle to sit up. She rubbed her neck. "My love?"

"You are awake. My heart swells with gladness for you."

"You should have let me go; they advance upon you with each passing moment! I beg of you, let me leave while there is still time."

Edward jerked Integra off the bed, and she fell forward onto him. "I cannot. Besides ,ti iis tool ate. They are here. Will you wait for me?"

"No! No! I cannot leave you!" Integra cried, and Edward shoved her on the bed. He strode off stage, and she began wailing. For a few seconds she continued, the stopped as the actor playing Jonathan Harker came in. His name was Eric, Integra recalled, and she waited for her cue.

"There you, Mina. Hiding here? What a silly girl you are." He shook his head. "Come along. Everyone is waiting for you."

"I won't come back with you, Jonathan. You've done so much to me."

"What else can you do?" He asked, laughing. "Where else can you go? That vampire is soon to die. For I have this..." He pulled a silver cross out of his coat. "Forged in holy water. It will destroy him."

"No..." Integra charged Jonathan. They moved, fighting, offstage, and there was a loud scream. A bloodied cross went flying out and landed in the center of the stage, and the curtains closed.

The ending was Integra's favorite part.

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	4. part four

_part four_

They grabbed her on her way home.

Bella had never thought that humans could subdue a vampire on their own, but she had walked right into the trap. One moment she'd been ducking through a back alley with a belly full of bear blood, the next she was breathing in the scent of vampire venom and following it. Suddenly everything went dark.

The pain began, went on and on and on, worse then when Edward had turned her, worse than the pain of giving birth. She screamed and twisted and burned inside, as if she'd been dipped in acid or set on fire or stabbed all over with knives.

And then it was over. Exhausted, uncaring, Bella dropped off into slumber.

* * *

"Alucard. Come here." Integra waved him over, pointing to the pile of papers stacked on the table. "The American hunters just sent all this to me."

Alucard trotted over, in hellhound form and read over the sheet before her.

"They received the venom sample I took off my neck and were able to create an antidote. They caught Bella last week and started testing it-some sort of vapor trap. They've managed to return her to a human state, although there are side effects. Interesting."

"Rehabilitating them, rather than eliminating them?" Alucard offered. Integra sighed.

"The government here sees it as too costly in terms of life to try and kill them-it's easier to rehumanize them and then force them back into society. Frankly, I disagree-but then again, the United States doesn't have the weaponry we have. And you can't be everywhere. I have no intention of leaving of these things in England alive, of course, but the Americans think differently."

* * *

The Cullens were in a quandary. Alice had just had a vision of a human Bella in a white room, and the Volturi were due to arrive within the hour. Aro would be able to read their thoughts and would know about Integra, which would probably lead them to the vision Alice had seen of her earlier; however, there was also the question of where Bella was and what she was doing if she was somehow human again.

"We can go after her, but we have no leads." Jasper said. "Where did Bella go?"

"She was further north, or so her credit cards say. She was still using money from our accounts. But the Denali checked it out, and they say she's long gone." Alice explained.

"What's strange is that Bella was human." Carlisle mused. "How is that possible?"

"It isn't." Edward muttered.

"Has anyone spoken to Integral?" Esme asked unexpectedly. "She may know something. She was aware of the fact that we were vampires, after all. She may have reported us to some government authority."

"I knew we should have just killed her." Rosalie snapped. "If she has, we should leave. Right now."

"No activity for a few hours, and no one knows where she is. We should be looking for Bella." Edward argued.

"No, we should speak to Integra first. See what she's done. Before the Volturi eliminate her." Jasper said.

"We split up." Emmett said. "Two of us wait for the Volturi and talk to Integra. Hold her, for the Volturi to deal with. The rest of go after Bella."

* * *

There was a knock at the door. Integra paused, halfway through loading her gun with the bullets she'd just gotten from the Americans. She finished loading the gun, stowed it in her jacket, and motioned for Alucard to follow her. A hellhound padded at her heels as she pulled open the door.

It was Edward, and Carlisle. "Can we come in?" Edward asked.

"No." Integra decided that if there was going to be a fight, she would have to keep them away from civilians. "Behind the building. Quickly." She strode past them towards the staircase and the two followed her down the steps out into the lot behind the building.

They faced off for a moment. "Integra, we're expecting some…visitors." Carlisle explained. "Dangerous ones. We need to know if you've done anything that could make you a target."

"Such as telling anyone about our condition." Edward added.

Integra thought of the stack of reports she'd faxed over to the Americans and wondered if they had concrete proof, or if they were guessing. She decided to keep it to herself for now.

"Who are these guests?" She asked.

"They are the worst of our kind. They won't shy at killing you, and if you've revealed us then they'll have reason to. They're a kind of vampire royalty." Edward wondered if there was anyway to truly make Integra understand the threat of the Volturi. Nothing in her expression showed even a trace of fear.

"Did you tell them I knew?" Integra asked. "Are they coming here specifically to deal with me?"

"No, they want to check on another member of our family, but she's away. But one of them has the power to read minds, and he will see the truth in our minds, if not in yours." Carlisle explained.

"Then I cannot see any benefit in running." Integra snapped. She had no idea of the scope of the tracking abilities of the Volturi, and she did not want to risk them coming into England if they could be killed here, without risking anyone but herself and Alucard. "I will explain to them the circumstances."

"They will kill you." Edward protested.

"We'll see." She replied.

* * *

The Volturi swept up towards the white house through the woods. There were three of them; Jane and Alec, the sadistic twins, and Aro, his usual smile on his face. They moved quickly, looking out of place in their long black cloaks, blurring as they dodged trees and rocks. The house came into sight before them; it was dark, with steel covering the wide windows and no lights visible anywhere.

Alec had an unconscious human, tightly bound, over his shoulder. The human was a woman, with cropped grey hair and a smooth, unlined face. She was dressed in a long, torn grey dress with bell shaped sleeves and a train that fell past her feet.

"We're expected." Alec noted. "They're ready for us. Something has happened."

"Perhaps I ought to have insisted Alice join us earlier…but no matter. Shall we see how dear Renesmee is?"

"Certainly." Jane strode up the front steps and rapped sharply on the door. There was the sound of movement form within the house, and then the door swung inward. Jasper stood in the doorway, arms folded.

"Good, you're here. There's been a problem." He said, holding out his hand. Aro took it, cocking his head to the side, and then frowned slightly.

"Edward will be returning soon?" Aro asked. Jasper nodded.

"I told him to bring the girl here." Jasper said. Alice appeared at his shoulder, looking uncharacteristically stressed.

"Aro, something's happened to Bella." She said.

* * *

"Oh, no." Edward was turning off the road towards the woods, and the house, when he heard them. "The Volturi are here." Carlisle, sitting in the passenger seat beside his son, turned back to look at Integra and the large, red-eyed dog in her lap. Integra glared at him.

"I thought you were taking me to them." She protested.

"Are you stupid?" Edward snarled. "You will die if they find you!" He reversed, turned and drove off in the opposite direction. Integra set her teeth, leaned forward, and grabbed a handful of Edward's hair in her fist.

"Turn around." She ordered. She kept her other hand on Alucard's head, as he started to shift forms. Carlisle opened his mouth to argue, and then stopped.

"Edward, keep driving. Integra, I'm sorry, this is for your own good-"

Integra sighed. "If you insist upon kidnapping me-"

_Now can I kill them, Master?_

_They might still be useful in terms of information. But stop this car._

_Yes, Master._

_Without injuring me._

_Your suspicion wounds me, Master._

_I wouldn't put it past you to take advantage of this situation to have a little…snack._

Alucard laughed, and then abruptly shifted form, so that he was a mass of tentacles and eyes and mouths. With stunning speed, he wrapped himself around both Carlisle and Edward, holding them immobile, so that neither of them could drive. Edward stomped down on the brake, and the car skidded to a stop; once the vehicle was at a standstill, Integra leaned forward, snatched the keys, grabbed her briefcase, and then opened the door and stepped out onto the road. Once she was clear of the vehicle, Alucard let go of the two Cullens and joined her, back in dog form.

Edward and Carlisle were out of the car and in front of within seconds, moving so fast she could barely see them.

"Why do you want to meet the Volturi?"

So I can kill them, Integra thought. "To prevent them from killing me."

"I'm trying to prevent them from killing you!" Edward said, exasperated. Integra sighed, turned around, and started walking in the other direction. The Cullens looked at each other briefly. Edward opened his mouth, and then shut it as he heard Carlisle's intentions. He sighed and followed his father.

"We can drive you." Carlisle offered. Integra paused.

"I'll drive myself." She said. She strode quickly back towards the car, climbed into the driver's seat, and then started it. Edward opened the passenger door, saw Alucard curled up on it, and slammed it shut. He and Carlisle climbed into the back, and Integra turned the car around drove towards the house.

"You turn off road at the next left, then follow the road up to the house." Edward muttered.

Integra followed his instructions, driving recklessly over the uneven terrain, making sharp turns and ignoring the way the car was bouncing up and down. She pulled up to the white house, noting the steel over the windows, and shoved the car door open. She climbed out, briefcase in hand, and motioned to Alucard. The Cullens followed, and together the four of them stood in front of the door.

Integra knocked.

* * *

The situation was surreal. Integra sat on the couch, with Alucard at her feet, and her briefcase in her lap. Beside her was Edward, and seated around the room were Jasper, Alice, Carlisle, and the Volturi with their prisoner.

"Miss- Hellsing, wasn't it? I'm delighted to meet such an insightful young lady." Aro said. "You are very…talented. And you know a lot about vampires."

"I became interested in them when Edward decided to try and kill me."

"Yes, that was unfortunate. As it happens, your presence is convenient- you see our friend here?" Aro gestured to the bound woman on the floor. "She seems to suffer from your…condition. No coherent thoughts- just bloodlust. Perhaps you would like to explain."

"I've never met this woman." Integra said.

_Hypnotism?_

_I can smell another vampire on her. _

_She doesn't look old enough to have grey hair. No visible bite marks._

_I can smell power on her, Master. The vampire isn't keeping her around for food._

_Then we should find out what he is keeping her around for._

"But you can tell me about her…or perhaps…there is a warehouse in this very city. You can accompany us there, and interpret our findings. They were quite interesting, but we were unable to discern their purpose."

"And I should come with you…why?"

"Integra, just do as they say." Edward urged. Integra resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him.

"My dear, you must understand that I am bound by the law to ensure your silence. It would go a long way in proving your…compliance…with these laws, if you came along."

"My compliance." Integra repeated, as if the word itself was disgusting. "Very well. I'll see this warehouse."

* * *

The warehouse was a square, grey building made of concrete, with the occasional obscenity spray-painted on the outside, and steel doors. They- the four Cullens, the three Volturi, the two humans, and Alucard- arrived in a black van owned by the Cullens. Alice was sitting in the back seat, fingers on her temples, desperately trying to see something about Bella. Her original vision about Integra had changed several times- there were always different people, as Aro debated on who to bring with him, and events altered which members of her family were home.

But now they were here, and she was trying to find out if anything else had changed. The people in her vision had changed, as Aro finally decided on who he was bringing to visit Renesmee (who had been forgotten entirely) and events with Bella led some of the Cullens to leave. But the event- a dark room, odd markings on the walls- remained the same.

Alice was nervous, but confident in her safety as she followed the others into the warehouse. Aro easily lifted the metal door up with one hand, and the Cullens, Volturi and humans started to go inside. Integra watched as the human captive began to stir; her eyes were red as they opened.

The group walked forward, and as they congregated in the center, the human captive's eye opened fully, and she smiled.

"Master?"

A bare bulb hanging from the ceiling suddenly came to life, illuminating the room. There was a true vampire standing against the wall, showing off razor sharp teeth as he smiled; Integra looked down, instinctively, and saw that she was standing within a circle marked out on the floor. A cic;e that was written in the same language as the Hellsing seal. And Alucard was outside the circle.

* * *

**It's been a while, but here you go. Part five should be the last, resolving all those questions I know this cliffhanger leaves. **

**Please review? Please?**


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